


Three Men + A Baby

by Kerkerian



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Bozer's a good big brother, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Gen, Guys' Weekend, Humour, Idiots in Love, M/M, Matchmaking, Romance, Surprises, macdalton
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:21:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27457156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kerkerian/pseuds/Kerkerian
Summary: Instead of going on their planned weekend trip, Jack, Mac and Bozer find themselves in a rather unexpected situation. Much to Bozer's delight, however, it seems to work in favour of another, rather long-standing problem concerning Mac and Jack...
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Jack Dalton/Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 61





	Three Men + A Baby

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own MacGyver. If I did, Jack had never left...

Whistling, Jack puts on his boots. He, Mac and Bozer are going to go on an extended weekend trip that they've been planning for ages, and Bozer and he made a deal: no camping, no survival training whatsoever, plenty of good meals and no crazy psychopaths with guns. Well, the latter depends entirely on good luck, of course, but as a precaution, Jack packed his own Glock, to be on the safe side.

All they want to do is have a good time: hike a little, sit on the beach, eat well, play poker and enjoy some downtime, and they've rented a cabin for the four days. The past few weeks have been kind of hectic, and Jack can't even recall when they last had a weekend off. Matty promised to keep them off the rota, and he hopes, with all his might, that nothing urgent will crop up. He's mentally and physically exhausted, to say the least, and the same goes for Mac. They can do with a bit of downtime.

With one last glance over his shoulder to check if the windows are closed and the alarm is activated, Jack shoulders his backpack, opens the front door- and stares. Blinks. And stares some more.

There, on the threshold to his apartment, is a baby in a car seat, fast asleep. Next to the car seat, there's a large bag.

Jack looks around, but the hallway is abandoned. He can hear steps on the stairs outside, however, and a moment later, Bozer and Mac appear, talking to each other and laughing quietly as they walk through the door.

That is, until they see Jack and the baby. Bozer stops so abruptly that Mac almost runs into him: “Uh, Jack? What's going on?”

Jack scratches his head: “You tell me. I just found this here.” He crouches down and picks the baby carrier up.

“There's a note,” Mac says, motioning towards an envelope that has been tucked underneath the blanket, at the baby's feet. Jack hands the carrier to him and pulls it out: it's got his name on it.

The letter is scrawled in a handwriting he doesn't recognize:

_Jack,_

_please look after Emmie for a few days. I need to take care of something, your the only one I trust with her._

_Sorry._

_Liz_

Jack is about to mutter some expletives, but stops himself, exhaling through his nose: “Great,” he says quietly, his barely suppressed anger making him bristle. “Who does she think she is? And what does she think she's doing? Half of the time, I'm not even here, what if she'd have left the baby on my doorstep and I wouldn't even have been around?”

“Who're you talking about?” Mac asks, while Bozer decides to provide the voice of reason: “Why don't we take this inside, guys.”

In the apartment, Mac puts the baby seat down on the kitchen island while Jack reads the note to them, obviously fuming. The little girl's cute, and despite circumstances, Mac feels tempted to touch her tiny hands; he doesn't want to wake her though, so he just looks at her while he listens.

“Who's Liz?” Bozer asks when Jack's finished.

“She's my cousin,” Jack says with a sudden air of defeat. “Well, step-cousin. I haven't heard from her in years, I didn't even know she had a baby. And how does she know where I live?”

“The more important question is: what are we going to do with the baby?” Mac asks.

As if on cue, Emmie opens her eyes. She blinks, then begins to keen softly.

Mac gently strokes her cheek with the back of his fingers: “Hi there,” he says softly, not wanting to startle her. “Don't be scared, sweetie.”

“I think we should probably rock her a bit,” Bozer says, taking the edge of the care seat and moving it gently, which seems to have the desired calming effect.

Jack scratches his head again: “I got no idea,” he says softly. “Lizzie's mom's in a nursing home because she's suffering from dementia, and her dad passed away a few years ago. I wouldn't even know who to ask.”

He and Mac regard one another, both of them thinking the same: Riley is with Billy, and they don't actually want to interrupt her well-earned weekend to send her on what might well turn out to be a wild goose chase. If they don't, however, they'll have to stay home to look after the baby.

After a minute of silent debate, with Bozer softly cooing to Emmie in the background, Mac and Jack shrug almost simultaneously: “Another time, then,” Mac says.

“Yeah.” Jack nods. “Sorry. I had no idea this was gonna turn into a cheesy eighties movie. Of course, you guys could just go without me-”

“Nah, we'll just postpone it.” Mac gives him an innocent smile. “You know I've always loved the eighties.”

An hour later, they've relocated to Mac's place, not least because of the deck- they're still going to have a barbecue and decided to make a guys' weekend out of it nevertheless, if with a tiny little twist. Secretly, Jack is relieved not to be solely responsible for the well-being of the little girl. He left a note on his door for Liz to give him a call in case she returns, which is the only concession he's willing to make.

Though he can't help but worry about her nevertheless; she's always been prone to trouble and falling in with the wrong crowd; who knows what she's been doing lately and what's going on in her life. The last info Jack has is that she was working at a hairdresser and doing well for once.

Maybe that's changed again. The baby looks well looked after, though, and her clothes are clean. The bag Liz left with her daughter is full of baby supplies like diapers and formula and more clothes, and it all looks okay. And the baby's just lovely. Once Jack calmed down enough to actually look at her, he could barely look away anymore.

Right now, he's standing on the deck with Emmie in his arms, gently rocking her as he stares at the Los Angeles skyline and tries to wrap his head around the situation. Emmie however has other ideas; she begins to keen again, which soon develops into soft but insistent crying.

Maybe she's hungry, Jack thinks, but then he catches a whiff of what the problem might actually be, grimacing: this isn't the first time he's changed a diaper and he knows how to do it, but it's something he could live without.

There were times when he's pictured himself with a family, but he soon realized that it just wasn't doable, as much as he'd have liked it; this became painfully clear during his time with Diane, but in hindsight, he's glad it didn't work out. He's certain that the path he's chosen is what was meant to be for him, and if things had gone differently, he'd not be where he is today, working for the Phoenix, with Mac. Involuntarily, he smiles, despite the prospect of diaper duty.

“Suits you.” It's Bozer, who's come out to check on the grill; he motions towards the baby and grins.

Jack scrunches up his nose at him: “Funny.”

“Why's she crying?”

“She's ripe, if you know what I mean. You wanna do the honours?”

“Nah, I'm only responsible for our dinner.” Bozer smiles sunnily.

Huffing, Jack takes the baby inside. Mac is just getting off the phone: “Cancelled the cabin,” he says.

“Let me guess- we're not getting our money back.”

“Not on such short notice, no,” Mac says, picking up the bag. “Does Emmie need a fresh diaper?”

“Yeah.”

They take her to Mac's bedroom, and Mac watches in fascination as Jack changes Emmie as if he's never done anything else.

“I'm really relieved we didn't have to google this,” he says, eliciting a snort: “Please,” Jack mutters. “I'm a man of many talents.”

“Yes, you are.” Mac smiles at him, and for a moment, Jack suddenly feels all fuzzy and warm. He quickly returns his attention to the baby: “You're lucky, huh?” Emmie smiles at him, kicking her feet, and Jack tickles her toes: “Are you hungry, sweetie? I'm sure Uncle Mac knows how to make some formula for you.”

“On it,” Uncle Mac says, disappearing in the direction of the kitchen. Jack closes Emmie's onesie and puts her romper suit back on, then he bags the used diaper and, after taking up the baby, carries it outside to the bin with an outstretched arm.

Mac is testing Emmie's milk on his wrist when they come back in: “Seems okay,” he says, handing Jack the bottle, and the baby latches onto it eagerly. “There you go, that's a good girl,” Jack mutters, sitting down at the counter.

“We still need a cot for her,” Mac says. “She can't sleep in the car seat. It's actually not very good for babies if they stay in those too often.”

“Yeah... think we need to go shopping or can you build one?” Jack asks.

“I could probably improvise with a clothes basket.” Mac shrugs. “But that might be a little narrow.”

“Okay, so...”

“I can go,” Mac offers. “It's not big deal, and Bozer wanted to go to the market anyway. Said something about 'culinary compensation' for not going away.”

Jack ducks his head: “I'm really sorry, man.”

“Not your fault,” Mac smiles, and something in the way he looks at Jack makes the latter feel all confused and fuzzy again, for the second time in ten minutes. He smiles back, feeling like an idiot, but unable to help it.

When Bozer and Mac come back, they don't only bring food and a baby travel crib but also some toys and a large stuffed dog.

“You didn't have to buy her another toy,” Jack says. “She's got a giraffe and a sheep right here.”

“But she didn't have a _dog_ ,” Mac says, as if it is only logical, before he goes to find a sheet for the crib. Since the new ones aren't washed yet, they're going to improvise for now.

“For future reference,” Bozer tells Jack in an undertone while he begins to put away their groceries, “if you ever go shopping for baby stuff with Mac, don't let him anywhere near the stuffed animals. They all talk to him and tell him they want to live at his place.”

Jack raises his eyebrows: “Really? 'Cause I've seen him rip a fair number of them apart to use for whatever contraption he was building back then.”

“Surely only small ones?” Bozer says.

“Yeah. The cheap kind you get a gas stations.”

“See? It's the large ones who hug you back that you've got to watch out for.”

“Huh.” Jack still seems doubtful.

“If you don't believe me, have a look in Mac's wall closet.” Bozer smiles innocently. “Or, as I call it, Fraggle Rock.”

Right then, Mac comes back. He makes up the crib and Jack puts Emmie down in it experimentally. She wiggles, looking around with big eyes, but doesn't protest.

“She likes it,” Jack says, stroking her cheek.

“And look who's here,” Mac says, holding the dog for her to touch. “This is Einstein.”

“Einstein?” Jack shakes his head. “That's not a proper dog's name!”

“Yes, it is.” Mac smiles at Emmie: “Don't listen to grumpy old Jack, honey. Einstein is a very clever dog.”

“Oh boy.”

Bozer just grins.

“I'm gonna fire up the grill- hopefully not in the literal sense of the word this time,” he directs a pointed look at Mac, who doesn't even notice it since his attention is on the baby. “Then I'm gonna need someone to peel potatoes and cut up some veggies.”

“Count me in,” Jack says. “Once I'm back from the bathroom. You gonna be okay here for a moment, hoss?”

“Einstein's got it covered,” Mac replies without looking up.

Shaking his head once more, Jack turns to go.

He goes straight to Mac's room and stops in front of the wall closet, debating for a moment whether he should actually invade his partner's privacy like that. He reaches for the door handle but hesitates, and in the end, he doesn't look after all. He'll just ask Mac sometime.

When he comes back into the kitchen, it is deserted. He finds the others on the deck, where Bozer succeeded in not setting fire to the grill on the whole and Mac is playing airplane with the baby, holding her up over his head and whirling her around carefully; she's squealing with glee.

“I didn't know Mac's such a natural,” Jack says.

Bozer looks up: “He's kind, and patient.” he replies softly. “Kids have always been drawn to him. You should've seen him with my little cousins. On one memorable Thanksgiving, my youngest cousin Jade rode on his shoulders all day, and he never tired of it. Pretended to knock her against the door frame and all that, and she just loved it. Probably was half deaf afterwards from all her screeching.”

Knowing that Mac's had this kind of surrogate family after his own fell apart is making Jack utterly glad, because otherwise, it'd not be bearable at all to see him like this. He smiles, unaware of his soft expression: “I'll go and get started on all the peeling.”

Bozer subdues a grin, then sighs: one of these days, he'll have to do something about the situation. Neither Jack nor Mac seem aware of it, but they both have stars in their eyes whenever the other one's around or sometimes even when that's not the case and they're just thinking of the other, and it's ridiculous how both of them practically light up in the other's presence even when they've only been apart for a few hours.

Jack blinks groggily, for a moment uncertain what has woken him, but then there it is again: a high-pitched wail. Right. The baby. Jack sits up: they've put the crib next to the couch.

A glance at his cell phone tells him that he's only just gone to bed two hours earlier. The night was mild and they stayed out on the deck long after midnight, and it feels like he's only slept for ten minutes until Emmie woke him.

“It's alright, sweetie,” he coos. “Uncle Jack's here, we'll get you sorted out.”

To his relief, she doesn't seem to need changing, therefore he pads into the kitchen and warms up a bottle of formula Mac has prepared earlier. God, he's so tired, he almost falls asleep again while Emmie drinks. She's taking her time too. Yawning, Jack closes his eyes for a moment, listening to the cute little snuffling sounds the little girl's making in between...

Jack startles when the couch next to him dips: “I'm awake,” he mutters.

“Clearly.” It's Mac, tousled and grinning drowsily, looking from Jack to Emmie: “She okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Jack blinks. “Slow drinker, though.”

Mac leans back and slides down a little so that he can put his feet on the coffee table. His warm body against Jack's is all kinds of nice.

“You can go back to bed, hoss,” Jack feels obliged to say nevertheless, because he can't help being an idiot, apparently, “I've got this.”

“That's okay.” Mac raises a hand to stroke over the baby's head. "I woke up when I heard her, then I couldn't go back to sleep anyway."

They stay in comfortable silence until Emmie has finally finished the bottle.

“Gotta burp her,” Jack mutters, getting to his feet. He walks up and down, gently rocking Emmie until she burps, spitting up a bit of the formula on the towel Jack has on his shoulder. “Here we go,” he says, “good girl.”

Emmie's eyelids are drooping by now.

Jack puts her down in the crib: “Be right back,” he says, because he's got to pee.

By the time he returns the living room, Mac's got Emmie in his arms, walking up and down with her just like Jack did before.

“What are you doing? I just put her down!”

“She's fussing,” Mac says. “I wasn't sure if she was going to spit up again and I thought if she did that while lying down, it could be dangerous.”

“Ah.” Jack subdues a grin. Bozer's mother-henning tendencies clearly rubbed off on his little brother.

“Hey honey,” he then says to Emmie tenderly, “weren't you just about to drop off two minutes ago? What happened to going back to sleep, huh?”

Emmie regards him over Mac's shoulder, eyes big and round, and wiggles.

“Maybe she needs a new diaper,” Mac suggests.

Jack checks, but that doesn't seem the case. So Mac and Jack sit down with her again, and whenever she starts to keen, Mac rocks her or jiggles or a little, and after a while, she starts to calm down. By the time she's asleep, the guys are close to dozing off themselves.

“She's out,” Jack slurs in a low voice, his expression soft as he beholds his partner and his charge. “Try'n put her down, 'kay?”

“Hm.” Mac pries his eyes open; Emmie is a comfortable little weight on his chest, warm and cuddly; he could have stayed like that, snuggled up on the couch with her and Jack. Rather reluctantly, he gets to his feet. Very slowly, he puts the baby down, and this time, she only snuffles a little but doesn't wake up again.

“Good job,” Jack mutters.

Mac grins tiredly: “Going to bed,” he replies, gently . “Night, Jack.”

“Night.”

On the following morning, Bozer is the first one up. He pads into the kitchen on socks in order not to wake Jack, but right then, Emmie starts to cry. Jack bolts upright like a veritable zombie, eyes still mostly closed: “I'm here,” he says groggily.

“Let me handle her,” Bozer says. “You go back to sleep if you like.”

“Thanks.” Jack sounds relieved as he flops back down. “You're a life-saver.”

Bozer gentle lifts the baby out of the crib: “Hello there, short stuff,” he says, smiling. “Did you sleep well? Ooooh, I think someone needs changing...”

When Mac gets up a while later, shuffling into the kitchen bleary-eyed, Bozer is just preparing another bottle for Emmie.

“Morning,” Mac mutters, sitting down at the kitchen island; Emmie is in her car seat, and he smiles at her drowsily.

“Morning!” Bozer regards him: “Did you sleep at all?”

“Yeah. With interruptions.” Mac yawns.

“Did you both get up in the night?” Bozer glances over to the couch.

Mac nods: “Woke up when she cried and couldn't go back to sleep. And then she wouldn't stop fussing. Took us quite some time to get her to settle down again.”

“So you and Jack are doing the whole co-helicoptering thing,” Bozer says, grinning.

Mac, who's been tickling Emmie's feet, which elicits delighted little squeals, just rolls his eyes. “Can't let him do all the work,” he mutters.

“That's true. Which is why I took over earlier,” Bozer strikes a hero pose. “Even changed her.”

“Thanks,” Mac looks up: “Want me to feed her?”

“Yeah. You look like you badly need some coffee, so I better get on to that, huh?”

“Definitely.” Mac gets up and takes Emmie into his arms: “Hi, baby,” he says softly, “you hungry?”

While Emmie drinks, Mac wanders around the house with her. He then circles the couch once; Jack has turned towards the backrest and is barely visible because he's drawn the blanket up to his ears.

Mac smiles: “In moments like these you should always have your phone at hand,” he tells Emmie in an undertone. “For blackmailing purposes.”

“I heard that,” Jack slurs under the blanket.

“I thought you're asleep.”

“Just pretending to be. Tried to catch a few more Zs, but couldn't. And now I'm smelling coffee.”

“And not just _any_ coffee,” Mac says with relish. “ _Bozer_ 's coffee.”

“What's his secret, you think?” Jack's face emerges.

Mac shrugs: “He won't tell me.”

“Hey, honey,” Jack next says, a smile lightening up his expression.

Mac looks from him to Emmie: “I think he means you.”

“Come on, now, don't be jealous.” Jack sits up and holds out his hands, making grabbing motions with them.

“I think that still means you, sweetie.” Mac grins.

“Oh, I'll take both of you,” Jack quips, and for a moment, it is dead silent. Then, Mac quickly sits down, only narrowly missing Jack's legs, and he can feel his ears turning red. Funny thing is, Jack's ears are doing the same.

“Well,” Mac says feebly. “Here we are.”

They stare at each other until Jack clears his throat: “I'm... I'm glad,” he says softly, another smile playing around his mouth, and Mac can't but smile back. The butterflies in his stomach are having a field day.

The moment is only interrupted when Emmie hiccups and begins to cough. Then she sneezes, and once she's done, she seems surprised.

“Aww, aren't you the cutest,” Jack coos, glad about the distraction.

Mac is still looking at him with an inscrutable expression, however, so Jack takes refuge in jesting: “Okay, fine- _she_ ain't the cutest. _You_ 'll always be my number one, you know that, right?”

Mac blinks as though he's got to shake himself out of something, then he gives a mock sigh, playing along: “Yeah. But it's good to hear it once in a while.”

Before he knows what's happening, Jack leans over and plants a kiss on his cheek, grinning broadly: “There. Serves you right if I got tiger breath,” he says. “Now can I please hold the baby?”

“She hasn't even finished her bottle,” Mac says, wiping his cheek with the back of his hand that's holding said bottle, “and how do you know that she won't be offended by your tiger breath too?”

“Too?” Jack raises his eyebrows. “You didn't look offended just now, on the contrary.”

“That's because I'm used to it,” Mac grumbles, though there's a fine blush on his face now as well. “Fine, take her.”

Emmie only looks at them with wide eyes as Mac carefully places her in Jack's arms.

“Hello there, sweetheart,” Jack coos. “Though I should probably say 'sweetheart number two' from now on, because this right here, this is sweetheart number one. Yes, he is. With a funny hamburger name an' all!”

“Oh boy.” Mac hands Jack the bottle and gets to his feet: “I think breakfast's ready.”

“What, can't handle my affection?”

“Shut up or I'll kiss you back.”

Unfortunately, Jack is speechless for once.

Bozer, who was watching them surreptitiously while he was making breakfast, refrains from shaking his head and pretends to be busy with the scrambled eggs he's making.

To be fair, Jack and Mac wouldn't even realize that people are on to their increasingly less subtle flirting if someone hit them over the heads with a big pink heart pierced by a life-sized cupid's arrow, because they probably haven't even realized what they are doing.

Trust these idiots to each think that their pining is one-sided and totally inconspicuous, and that anything which might even be perceived as coming on to the other can actually be counted as mere bromantic joking around.

Bozer rolls his eyes: yeah. He'll definitely have to do something about it, and the good thing is that he's now got help, in the shape of a baby girl. He has never met Jack's cousin Liz, but he's so going to thank her for her good timing.

Later that morning, Jack spreads a blanket on the deck and puts Emmie down on it, together with an assortment of toys as well as her giraffe, the sheep and Einstein. Mac joins them after covering the fire pit, to be on the safe side; Emmie can't crawl yet, but she's moving around nimbly, after all.

They play with her until she gets visibly tired. And cranky. And then she starts to cry in earnest, the volume of which is new.

Bozer, who's lounging in one of the deckchairs, opens his eyes: “What's up?”

Jack checks if Emmie needs a new diaper: “Okay, that explains it,” he mutters, lifting her up to carry her inside.

A few minutes later, he yells: “I could really use some help here, guys!”

Mac and Bozer exchange a look before they get up and go investigating.

Jack is just reaching into the shower and turning it on when they arrive in the bathroom, grimacing. Emmie is lying on the towel they're using as a changing pad, completely undressed, nowhere near clean and, understandably, still crying. And apparently, there was a mishap of the malodorous kind.

“What happened to your t-shirt?” Bozer asks, holding his nose. “Ew. Is that what I think it is?”

Jack only scowls at him, muttering something about “projectile” and “didn't even know that was possible” before he starts giving directions: “Okay, _all_ the clothes need to go into the laundry ASAP, and when I'm in the shower and the water has got the right temperature, someone needs to hand me the baby.”

“You wanna shower with the baby?”

“No, wise-ass, I don't wanna shower _with_ the baby,” Jack says, a mildly deranged look in his eyes. “I'm talking damage control here, man. But don't worry, I'll keep my underpants on.”

“Yeah, okay, that's not what I... Anyway... none of that goes into our laundry basket. I'll go get a trash bag, be right back.” Mac disappears.

Bozer shakes his head: “This ain't the right job for me. Think you two'll be able to handle this on your own?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jack says distractedly, trying to figure out a way to get out of his shirt without making worse.

“'kay. I'll be outside, if you do need me.” Bozer tries not to grin.

Once Jack's slipped out of his clothes and everything that's been soiled has been contained in a plastic bag, including the towel, Jack slips into the shower while Mac is holding Emmie at arm's length; she's not happy at all.

“You ready?” Mac asks when the baby keeps wiggling; he's afraid that he might drop her.

“Just a sec... yeah, think it's okay.”

Jack pulls the door to the shower stall open and reaches for Emmie: “Come here, you little skunk.”

Mac hands her over: “You gonna be okay now?” For some reason, his ears are turning red again.

“Yeah. I need a washcloth for her though. Can I use this soap on her, do you think?”

“I think so. It's organic, shouldn't be a problem.” Mac hands him a washcloth.

“Good, thanks. Do me a favour and have a towel ready for her,” Jack says.

“'kay.” Mac backs out and closes the door, then, after taking a deep breath or two, goes to tip the contents of the plastic bag into the washing machine.

When he comes back, he brings two fresh towels, one for Emmie, one for Jack, and another older one to replace the one they used for changing her.

Emmie has meanwhile stopped crying; in fact, she's making gurgling noises that sound rather delighted.

“I think she likes the warm water,” Jack says loudly. “Maybe we should buy her a baby tub.”

“For how long do you think she'll stay with us?” Mac can't but ask, at which Jack sighs: “You're right. Though I can't guarantee anything when it comes to Liz.”

“So... if she doesn't get in touch by Monday-”

“Yeah. I'll have Riley track her down.”

“You make it sound as if it'd be easy.”

Jack looks down on the baby who's currently giggling in his arms: “Oh, that's what it's definitely _not_ gonna be.”

Mac has an inkling what he's talking about; they've all fallen for Emmie in record time, after all. There's another point to consider, however: “So... what if Liz is in serious trouble and needs help?”

Jack has been pondering this as well. “I really don't hope so, man,” he mutters.

For a while, they are silent.

“Are you planning on coming out of there any time soon?” Mac then asks.

“Hang on.” A moment later, the door opens again and Jack holds out the baby. Mac wraps the towel around her; once she's safely in his grip, he tosses Jack the other towel.

“Thanks,” Jack steps out of the shower with the towel over his head, and Mac quickly turns away: “Let's get out of here,” he mutters, “this is getting too steamy.”

Which is also a good excuse for his red face. He's seen Jack without clothes before, but somehow, this is different. And getting out of hand. So he dries Emmie off and dresses her in his bedroom, then takes her back out on the deck, glad to have escaped.

“You okay?” Bozer is barely able to subdue a grin because Mac's looking rather flushed as he eases Emmie down on the blanket.

“Yeah, why do you ask?” Mac's tone is defensive, and Bozer shrugs innocently: “Just making sure you're okay, bro.”

Mac regards him with narrowed eyes: “Why wouldn't I be?”

Bozer shrugs again: “No reason.” It takes all of his theatrical skills to not grin broadly right now, and Mac, who knows him well, is about to argue when Jack appears, fully dressed, rubbing at his hair with a towel. “The next one to change her diaper is not gonna be me,” he announces.

“Huh.” Mac looks from him to the baby, who's chewing on her giraffe. “Whose cousin was it again that left you in charge of her daughter without even asking?”

“Alright, alright.” Jack huffs. “Maybe I should wear protective gear in the future.”

That night, once Emmie's down and they've had dinner, Jack sinks onto the couch and closes his eyes: “I had no idea taking care of a baby was so exhausting!” He groans: “And she'll probably be awake for her night-time shrieking in a measly few hours. I'll better just go to bed now.”

“It's eight thirty.”

“Yeah, so?”

Mac considers this, then he shrugs: “Yeah, okay, I see your point.”

Jack pats the couch next to him and Mac flops down on it.

When Bozer comes into the living room, both of them are dozing, feet on the coffee table, Mac's head on Jack's shoulder.

Bozer slowly takes out his phone, mutes the sound and snaps a few pictures. If things proceed to go this smoothly, Riley is going to owe him fifty bucks, after all.

Jack and Mac startle out of their nap when the dishwasher begins to rumble; fortunately, the baby sleeps through it.

“Man, I'm going to bed for real,” Mac mutters. “See you in a few hours.”

“Okay,” Jack says, instead of _aw, you don't have to help_ , and instantly feels selfish, but only for a moment. He can still feel Mac's warmth where he was leaning against him just now, and he kind of misses already the contact. Not having to wait until morning is definitely preferable, though he shakes his head at himself in the mirror as he brushes his teeth. “Lovelorn fool,” he mutters in his best John Wayne impression.

It doesn't keep him from being disproportionately excited, however.

Jack opens his eyes at the first few mewling sounds. Drowsily, he lifts Emmie out of her crib before she starts bawling for real, jiggling her on his hip while he pads over to the kitchen to heat up the formula, then he returns to the couch. And waits.

Even after Emmie has been drinking contentedly for a while, Mac still hasn't shown up, so Jack gets to his feet again and makes his way to Mac's bedroom.

The neon sign above the bed is on, bathing the room in dim light. Mac seems fast asleep; he's lying on his front and all that's visible of him is his hair. For a moment, Jack feels the strong urge to run his hand through it; with a pang of regret, he decides not to wake Mac instead and turns to leave.

Just as in the previous night, Emmie fusses for quite a long time after she's finished the bottle, and Jack is awake for at least two hours. On the following morning, he wakes up when the baby cries, but before he manages to pry his eyes open, there's a hand on his shoulder and a voice telling him that he should go back to sleep, and he does.

Mac lifts Emmie up and takes her to his room; he feels a little guilty for not waking up in the night, but he didn't hear a thing. So he bathes her in the sink of his bathroom, which has just the right size, and she seems to enjoy it. They play with one of the rubber ducks, and she giggles whenever Mac makes the duck quack in a high voice.

Bozer knocks on the door frame: “Morning,” he says, tousled, then he smiles, still a little sleepy: “Hi, baby girl.”

Emmie smiles back.

“You all good here?” Bozer asks while he gently strokes Emmie's cheek.

“Yeah, we're good. I didn't hear her last night, so I thought I'd let Jack sleep in.”

“Should we wait with breakfast for a bit?”

“Yeah, that's probably best. Though Emmie needs her bottle.”

“We could just use the camping stove out on the deck.”

“Oh, yeah. Great idea, Boze.”

“I'll go set it up.”

“Thanks.” Mac smiles at his friend, who pats him on the shoulder before he turns to go.

It's a nice autumn morning, so Bozer and Mac take the baby for a walk after she's finished her bottle. Since they don't have a stroller, Mac, with the help of Google, fashioned a baby carrier out of a sheet. Emmie looks around with interest, and they receive a lot of smiles whenever they pass other people.

“You're a little star,” Bozer tells the little girl, “ _and_ a chick magnet, obviously. Maybe I should carry her for a little bit.”

“You sure they're not just laughing at us because of this thing?” Mac, as usual, is oblivious to his own attractiveness.

“Give yourself some credit, bro,” Bozer says. “You're hot and the baby's cute. That's an irresistible combination.”

Mac frowns at that: “I didn't even comb my hair today.”

Bozer gasps in mock exasperation: “And yet,” he just says.

“And yet _what_?”

“That's not lessening your _allure_ , on the contrary.” Bozer wiggles his eyebrows meaningfully.

Mac opens his mouth and closes it again, obviously at a loss.

“Of course,” Bozer adds, “you'll also get extra points for your charming starry-eyed naïveté.“

At that, Mac stops to glare at him, but right then, two men jog past them, and while one of them smiles at the baby, the other definitely seeks eye-contact with Mac.

Bozer crosses his arms in front of his chest: “See?”

Huffing, Mac walks on. “It's the baby,” he insists.

“The baby's only been around for two days,” Bozer says airily. “Ask Jack.”

Mac stops again: “And what's that supposed to mean?”

Bozer regards him, taking a breath: “Honestly? That you both are thicker than two planks sometimes.”

Right then, Emmie hiccups, spitting up a little. Grateful for the distraction, Mac wipes her chin: “Are you getting sea sick, sweetie?” he says gently. She looks up at him wide-eyed, and he presses a kiss on her head.

“I don't know what you're talking about,” he then says to Bozer, who shakes his head: “I'm your big brother, and I love you. It's my responsibility to make sure you're alright.”

He ignores how Mac's rolling his eyes: “I want you to be happy, and I think the one person who _could_ make you happy has been in your life for a long time already, and both of you are too... I dunno, _afraid_ to do something about it. At least you are.”

Mac's ears turn red, and he sags. “Is it that obvious?” he asks feebly.

“Well... to me it is.” He wisely doesn't mention Riley or the pool they've got going on.

Mac regards Bozer with something akin to defeat: “I can't lose him,” he says, barely audible. “Sometimes I think it's reciprocated, but then again I get uncertain... What if I'm reading too much into it... what if it's just me?”

Slowly, Bozer's expression softens into a fond smile: “Mac- have you _seen_ how he looks at you?”

At that, Mac averts his gaze; he's always been shy like this.

“Just be yourself,” Bozer says gently. “It'll be alright.”

Mac however ponders the matter. When they come in through the front door, Jack's just waking up. He stretches and yawns before sitting up; when he sees Mac with the baby strapped to his torso, a gentle smile spreads on his face: “Hey, there,” he says, still sounding sleep-soft. “You been out?”

Unaware that he's doing it, Mac runs a hand over his unkempt hair: “Yeah,” he all but stammers, then, annoyed with himself, clears his throat: “We didn't want to wake you.”

“That's really sweet of you.” Jack beams at him, and Mac's knees turn into jelly while the butterflies are back. He frees Emmie out of the makeshift carrier, and Jack immediately reaches for her.

“Sorry I didn't wake up,” Mac says while he disentangles himself from the sheet next.

“That's okay,” Jack's attention is on the baby, which is just as well: his heart leapt at the thought of his moment of longing in the middle of the night. “We did alright on our own, didn't we, baby?”

He looks up and pauses when he sees Mac's expression. He seems... stricken, but quickly arranges his face into something neutral.

“Though we'd have loved for you to keep us company, right?” Jack therefore quickly adds, at which Mac appears downright relieved.

That night, they're as exhausted as on the previous day. There are no more incidents which require an instant shower, but, as Jack discovered after day one, looking after a baby is a full time job, even when one isn't doing it alone. And for some reason, Emmie was alternately wailing and keening for the better part of the day and had a slightly elevated temperature; since everything else seemed alright, they considered taking her to the hospital to be on the safe side, but a phone call to Bozer's mom sorted things out: “Sounds like she might be teething, honey,” she told Mac. “Has she been chewing on things a lot?”

“Well, yeah, I think so,” he said.

“And drooling?”

“That too.”

“Then you needn't worry. It's normal.”

Which was a relief but still made for one very cranky and hard to please baby. She only settled down to sleep after nine o'clock, and by then, all three of her caretakers are ready to drop as well.

When Jack wakes up at shortly after two a.m. because of Emmie's crying, he needs a moment to get his bearings. He picks the baby up, checks her diaper and takes her to the kitchen, where he arrives at the same time as Mac. Emmie fusses more than usual, keeps spitting out the teat on the bottle and keens, and at one point, Jack feels his eyelids drooping as they sit on the couch and try to get the baby to drink.

“Come on,” Mac mutters, pulling him to his feet. Jack doesn't even ask where they're going; he trusts Mac's ideas implicitly. Well, most of the time, but right now he's not inclined to doubt his partner's brilliance. So he lets Mac tug him along by his sleeve until they're in Mac's bedroom.

“Huh?” he then asks, in case he missed something.

Mac sweeps his hand across the bed: “Let's just lie down. I need to lie down, and you look like you're gonna keel over any moment. If she's in the middle, she can't fall out, and if she decides to drink after all, we don't have to get up again.”

“'kay.” Jack is so tired he doesn't have it in him to protest.

They crawl under the covers with Emmie nestled between them, and after a while, she calms down and falls asleep. “Guess she wasn't that thirsty,” Jack mutters, yawning, and Mac only drowsily hums in acknowledgement.

On the following morning, Jack wakes up slowly. He's more comfortable than during the past two nights, and something's different. And then the tiny person next to him moves, and it all comes back to him. He opens his eyes: Emmie's still sleeping, as is Mac. He's lying on his side, face slack, slightly curled up with both hands in front of him, and Emmie is holding on to his thumb with her little fist.

Jack's heart clenches with want: it's just such an adorable sight. However, that's not all there is to it, of course. He's seen Mac sleeping countless times, but somehow, this is different. This is peaceful and feels like something that has so far been missing in his life. Waking up next to Mac at home, that is, a sense of belonging. Doing normal, every day stuff together whenever their job grants them a reprieve. He sighs: he is aware that this isn't something they'd be able to do; in their line of work, they wouldn't even be able to keep a dog. And because of that, he doesn't usually allow himself to get caught up in fantasies like these.

He can't but smile as the baby snuffles: “Gotta make an exception once in a while,” he mutters, lifting his hand to gently stroke Emmie's soft cheek. She begins to blink, and a moment later, she opens her eyes. For a moment, she seems barely awake, but when Jack begins to whisper to her, she turns her head towards him and smiles at him, and he's completely smitten with her for probably the hundredth time.

Mac wakes up shortly afterwards, mainly because Jack keeps talking to Emmie, who giggles and waves her arms and legs. Mac blinks, rubbing a hand over his eyes as he watches the other two.

“Morning,” Jack says softly. Mac smiles, still a little bleary: “Morning.” And then he extends his hand. Jack thinks he means to reach for Emmie, but Mac takes Jack's hand instead. He is trembling ever so slightly and he looks somewhat timid as he does it, managing to give the impression that he isn't sure whether he should rather flee while at the same time, but he holds Jack's gaze.

Who glances to their hands and back, and then he gently tightens his own grip and pulls Mac's hand to his face, pressing a kiss into the palm.

Mac's eyes widen at that, then he gives a breathless little gasp, and Jack can't but smile: “Darlin',” he mutters, his voice deep and gravelly. “Can't imagine a nicer way of waking up.”

He watches how Mac slowly calms down, how he realizes that this is truly happening, and the smile that is now illuminating his face is soft and tentatively happy: “Me neither,” he says in a low voice.

For a while, they just look at one another, trying to fathom their new parameters, too stunned to talk.

Then Emmie begins to mewl. With regret, Jack lets go of Mac's hand: “We're going to continue this later, okay?” he says, at which Mac's smile deepens: “Okay.”

Bozer immediately notices that something's going on that morning. Mac and Jack are strangely giddy and trying not to show it. Also, Mac keeps blushing whenever Jack so much as glances in his direction, and Jack is just... glowing, Bozer doesn't have a better word for it. He's beaming all the time, as if he just got the best news ever, or... if something really good happened.

Bozer catches Mac's gaze a few times, but the latter doesn't give anything away. Knowing him, he's afraid to jinx it: after all, Bozer has long since discovered that his genius little brother, scientist extraordinaire, is astoundingly inept when it comes to other people's affection and how to handle it. Hence the pep talk during their walk. He just really hopes that Jack is aware of how messed up Mac is in that regard; then again, they've known each other for a long time and Jack's got a fine-tuned MacGyver-sense. They'll probably be fine.

And then Jack's phone rings just as they are playing a round of poker in the early afternoon, and it's Liz. Jack's expression immediately darkens, it's as if the sun was suddenly blocked by a large cloud, and walks out onto the deck. They can't hear what he's saying, but he's pacing around, and he looks angry.

“Never bodes well when there's no yelling,” Bozer muses, and Mac knows what he means: Jack becoming quiet always resembles a crouching tiger.

After a while though, Jack sits down on one of the deck chairs, and ten minutes later, he comes back in.

“She's got some nerve,” he mutters, but he seems resigned. “She's coming here to collect Emmie.”

Mac and Bozer immediately turn towards the crib; after crying through noon because her teeth were probably giving her trouble again, Emmie's finally napping.

“Now?” Mac asks feebly.

“Yeah.” Jack rubs a hand over his face. “Apparently, she's just had a cancer scare, that's where she was. In the hospital, for some minor surgery.”

Bozer frowns: “Why didn't she just ask you if you'd look after the baby beforehand?”

“I asked her the same question, believe me, but she said she was afraid I'd refuse.”

“Does she know you at all?” Mac asks, and when Jack's expression softens into a grateful little smile at that, he immediately blushes again.

“She's complicated,” Jack says, after clearing his throat. “Anyway, I told her in unmistakable terms how irresponsible it was to just leave the baby on my doorstep and then disappear without even leaving a phone number, and that she needs help. I mean, there are services she can turn to as a single parent, right?”

“I suppose,” Bozer says while he watches Mac wandering over to the crib. “You didn't threaten to report her, right?”

“No, of course not. I offered to help her out too. Once I was done with giving her a piece of mind.” Jack shakes his head. “We don't have much family left, but if she's willing to make the effort, I'll do what I can to support her.”

“Do you think she told you the truth just now?”

“I do.”

Bozer nods: “I hope she knows how lucky she is.”

Jack grumbles something under his breath. “I suppose we better get started on packing up Emmie's stuff,” he then says.

“I'll go get her toys from the deck.” Bozer sighs.

Mac, who's standing next to the crib with his arms around his torso and watches the sleeping baby, just nods, but he doesn't move.

Jack comes to stand next to him: “Ain't she cute,” he says softly, but it's not a question.

“It'll be strange without her,” Mac mutters, glancing at Jack. “You crying?”

“ _No_? You?”

“Course not.”

While Jack clears his throat, Mac visibly squares his shoulders, then they start packing.

Roughly half an hour later, the doorbell rings.

Mac isn't sure what exactly he expected, but Liz doesn't look like someone who doesn't have their life under control, on the contrary: she's good-looking, has her brown hair in a pony tail and is wearing conventional clothes. The only indication that something might be off is that she's rather pale and looks exhausted.

Mac invites her in, but the moment she sees Jack, she freezes, obviously uncertain how to approach him. Jack however takes one look at her and opens his arms: “C'mere,” he says gruffly, hugging her, and it's obvious that all of his anger has melted away in the meantime.

“I'm sorry, Jack,” Liz says in a low voice the moment he lets go of her. “I didn't mean to put you out. My neighbour would have looked after Emmie, only she's unexpectedly gotten sick-”

She breaks off when she sees Jack's expression.

“I wish I'd have been there for you more,” he says, sounding pained. “So you wouldn't have hesitated to ask me in the first place.”

A small smile flits over Liz's face. “We kinda lost contact, it happens,” she mutters.

Jack scratches his head: “Yeah, well; due to my job, I travel a lot. Still. If I can, I'll help if you need me.”

“Thanks.” Liz sounds choked now.

A mewl from the living room has them all look around. Nodding, Mac goes to get Emmie. Gently, he lifts her out of her crib and carries her over to the kitchen.

Liz actually tears up when she sees her: “Hello, my darling,” she says, gratefully taking her daughter into her arms. “I missed you, honey!”

A moment later however, she begins to sway. Quickly, Jack and Bozer catch her arms and guide her to the next chair.

“Sorry,” she says, “I'm still a little dizzy from the medication. It should wear off soon.”

Jack frowns: “You sure you wanna go home? Is there someone to look after you?”

Liz averts her gaze: “No. My neighbour's in the hospital herself.”

Jack exchanges a look with the other two: “Why don't you stay here, at least for tonight?”

“Yeah,” Bozer chimes in. “You can have my room.”

“It'd be no problem,” Mac agrees.

Liz looks at them: “If you're sure-”

“Yes, we are.” Jack gives her a smile. “You're family, after all.”

Liz seems relieved not to be going home yet, and she's overwhelmed by how much the guys care about Emmie and all the things they've bought for her.

“I'm such a dunderhead,” she says at dinner. “I didn't even think about where she'd sleep. I was just panicked that I'd have to postpone my surgery, I've waited for that appointment for so long.”

She and Jack have had a talk in the meantime, and while he's made it clear that he meant it when he said he's willing to help, he also convinced her to get some counseling regarding her options.

“I'm away for most of the time,” he said, “so this was a really lucky break. Next time, I might not even be there.”

At that, Liz averted her gaze again: “Sorry,” she muttered. “I listened at your door and heard you whistling and moving around.”

Jack regarded her: “How did you know where I lived in the first place?”

“I found it in my mom's address book.”

“Huh. Yeah, that makes sense.”

“How come you never offered _me_ your room?” Jack later asks Bozer, once Liz has gone to bed; they have put the crib into Bozer's room too because it's convenient, but now the spot in the living room where it used to be seems strangely empty. They have half-heartedly taken up their poker game again, but each of them secretly misses the baby already.

Bozer shrugs: “You always seem fine to take the couch, bro.”

“And where are you going to sleep tonight while Liz is in your room?”

“On the couch,” Bozer says airily. “Since it's _your_ cousin I gave my bed to, it's only fair, isn't it?”

“Oh yeah?” Jack replies. “And where am _I_ going to sleep, huh?”

Grinning, Bozer shrugs again, looking at Mac. Who blushes, for the probably thousandth time that day, but then shrugs: “In my room, of course.”

At that, Jack closes his mouth.

For a moment, it's dead silent, then Jack begins to glow again, his entire being illuminated by his beaming smile. “Yeah?” he says softly.

Mac's own smile is shy: “Yeah.”

Bozer takes a deep breath, clapping a hand on one of their shoulders each: “My _boys_ ,” he says with mock emotion. “I'm so proud of you!”

Open-mouthed, Jack looks from him to Mac, who shrugs again, a little grin quirking up the corners of his mouth now.

“You knew?” Jack asks. “Was it that obvious?”

Bozer shrugs as well: “I may not have been in the spy business as long as you have, but I know my little brother. And yeah, it's rather obvious.”

Jack feels weak in the knees. “Well...” he says feebly. “In that case, I really hope to have your blessing, Boze.”

Mac clears his throat: “Can we maybe keep in mind that we didn't even kiss yet?”

“Whaaaat?” Bozer singsongs. “What are you two lovebirds waiting for, then? Go, get on with the smooching! We can play poker another time!”

Now both Mac and Jack turn a deep shade of red.

“Aye aye, sir,” Jack mutters, then he takes Mac's hand and pulls him along.

Feeling a little dazed, Mac complies.

In Mac's bedroom, Jack turns to Mac, who pushes the door closed, then they pause, regarding one another.

“I love you,” Jack then says softly, sounding helpless and affectionate and a little desperate even. “I've loved you all this time. I just never thought...”

He doesn't need to elaborate. Mac pulls him closer by their still joined hands, raises his free one to Jack's face and almost timidly touches his cheek, trembling: “Same here,” he mutters, his gaze roaming over Jack's features. “I thought you'd consider me too young. Too inexperienced.”

Jack briefly closes his eyes: “Maybe in the beginning, for about three seconds. But then I had the privilege to get to know you. And the better I knew you... the more I fell for you.”

He puts his hand over Mac's, turns his face into the touch and briefly closes his eyes.

“Am I crazy here?” he asks in a very low voice once he's opened them again.

Mac smiles ever so slightly, his own eyes moist now: “Then we're both crazy,” he replies, his voice gravelly. “I love you too, Jack.”

Jack moves forward until their chests touch and nuzzles Mac's face: "So you finally gonna kiss me back now?"

And then they mostly don't speak any more for quite some time.

On the following morning, Jack wakes up first. He hears Emmie crying somewhere, and it feels wrong not to go look after her. Right then however, the warm body in his arms moves, and that's another thing to marvel at. He opens his eyes to find that Mac is looking at him, smiling absently.

“Morning,” Jack mutters, returning the smile; he's incredibly happy that waking up in here apparently wasn't a one-time occasion after all. That they finally arrived somewhere.

They haven't done anything yet but kiss, but it was amazing to go to sleep wrapped around one another, which they did. It was as if they had waited for it so long that they just needed to feel the other, as closely as possible, and it has been breathtaking to just crawl into each other's arms as if they have done it a million times before. And they realized that there were so many ways in which they still didn't know each other at all, ways they were looking forward to exploring.

Jack thinks of how it feels when Mac's ribcage expands against his own with every breath; how he shivered ever so delicately when Jack nuzzled the soft skin behind his ear; how he looks now, tousled and lovely. Jack also thinks of other things like the mystery of Mac's wall closet and smiles to himself: they'll get there.

“Morning,” Mac's own smile deepens. “Sleep well?”

“I haven't slept this good in forever,” Jack murmurs, lifting a hand to caress Mac's face. “Darlin'.”

He's downright proud when Mac doesn't even blush at that.

Saying goodbye to the baby is harder than they thought. Liz however promises not to be a stranger and to keep Jack in the loop about how she's doing.

Emmie's got Einstein with her in the car seat as Jack takes them home, chewing on the stuffed dog's ear; once Bozer and Mac have said their goodbyes and kissed Emmie one last time, they take off.

“So,” Liz says after a moment, glancing at Jack sideways. “You and Mac, hm?”

Jack just beams.

At the house, Mac and Bozer clean up a little, then they sit down at the kitchen counter with a coffee.

Bozer obviously tries not to let it on that he's bursting with curiosity, but Mac knows him well too, after all: “Bozer?” he says therefore patiently.

“Mac?”

“Just ask me what you wanna know.”

“Dude,” Bozer begins, but then he laughs: “Ah, who am I kidding. So, you and Jack, huh?”

Mac smiles into his mug. “Me and Jack. Thanks for giving me a push, Boze. I needed it.”

“Yeah, I was waiting for that to happen if I'm honest. So did Matty. Riley on the other hand...”

Groaning a little, Mac furrows his brows: “Was it really that obvious, Boze?”

Bozer regards him fondly: “Only to those who know you well.”

“And you're just saying that to be kind?”

“I'm saying that because I'm happy for you, and who cares about anything else.”

Mac rolls his eyes, but then he inclines in head: “Thanks,” he repeats.

“You are, ain't you?” Bozer's expression is serious now. “Happy, I mean?”

“Yeah.” Mac can't but smile as he thinks of Jack.

“Good.” Bozer smiles as well. “It's a perfect match, if you ask me.”

Mac hesitates: “You really think so?”

“I do. Jack may be older than you, but you two just complement each other. As you did with the baby.”

Considering this, Mac nods. “I didn't even think about the age difference,” he mutters. “He's just... _Jack_ to me, you know?”

Bozer nods: “I know.” He refrains from pointing out that once more, Mac's got stars in his eyes.

That night, they sit around the fire for a while, which seems an appropriate conclusion for the weekend.

“This turned out entirely different than we planned,” Jack mutters at one point.

“Yeah.” Bozer grins. “Still a good weekend though.”

“Yeah, it was.” Elatedly, Jack bumps Mac's shoulder with his own, eliciting a smile.

Even though Mac is quiet, Jack can feel that his partner is brimming with energy, and he himself feels close to bursting too, alive and happy and wanting to sing, despite being sad that Emmie is gone.

As if Mac has read his mind, he raises his beer: “To ends and beginnings,” he says softly, and they all clink their bottles together.

It's definitely been good.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm not a Native Speaker, therefore I apologize for any mistakes.
> 
> The "cheesy eighties movie" Jack refers to is of course "Three Men and A Baby" from 1987.


End file.
